An Egyptian court has convicted a Jewish businesswoman for selling a building to an Egyptian businessman who claimed the structure was not hers to sell.
Carmen Weinstein, a leader of Egypt's tiny Jewish community, was convicted Saturday on charges of fraud, and sentenced to three years in prison. Media reports said that Weinstein supports the Jewish community by managing real estate.
The businesswoman said the papers documenting the alleged 3 million Egyptian pound ($520,000) sale were forged. The businessman who said he bought the building told the court that she refused to give the money back after he discovered it did not belong to her.
Members of the Jewish community warned Israeli Ambassador to Egypt, Yitzchak Levanon, not to interfere, explaining that the situation is sensitive. Israel has since denied a report published Sunday by Kuwait's Al-Jareeda newspaper, claiming that Levanon sent a letter to Egypt's Foreign Ministry, accusing the court of bias against Weinstein because she is Jewish.
The prime minister's spokesman, Mark Regev, told Israel National News that he “had no information” on whether the issue would be discussed by any government official, at any level, with Egypt. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who was slated to meet this week with President Hosni Mubarak, is expected to meet next week instead with the Egyptian leader in Cairo.
At present, there are fewer than 100 Jews left in Egypt, and nearly all of them are women. Following the 1967 Six-Day War, most Egyptian men between the ages of 17 and 60 were expelled from the country or detained, according to then-Cairo resident Rami Mangoubi. Since that time, most Egyptian Jews fled the country, and Egyptian media has continued to maintain a relatively intense anti-Jewish stance.